Share your achievements, small or big!

[Beltane]

Another nice little topic to chat about 🙂

It's really important to those of us with mental issues to hold on to our achievements and successes, especially the ones over our illnesses. Each and every achievement, no matter how small you might think it is, is so important. We should celebrate and take pride in each achievement- because each one is a step towards recovery.

So in this topic I'd like us to share our successes. You can post as often as you like, every time you have an achievement or success you'd like to share (even if you think "but it wasn't that big a deal"). Yes it IS a big deal! Fighting an illness is hard work, so lets celebrate all our achievements!

When i first fought my anxiety, my very very first challenge was to drive to the local shops. And I achieved it, and boy did I celebrate. Might not sound like much to someone else, but to me it was like climbing Mount Everest while wearing shorts and thongs (i imagine). So you better believe I went home and danced around my house celebrating my success!

My most recent achievement I am celebrating is: I attended my first job interview in 3 years that i did NOT take any anti-anxiety medication whatsoever for. Every other interview in the last 3 years i've needed strong anti-anxiety medication. But after much therapy and hard work, i learned more and more coping skills. I was nervous about not taking the medication as I was so used to doing it, but not only did i get through the interview but i did it calmly and kept my anxiety well under control. I'm pretty proud of myself!

(Also I got the job- yay- but unfortunately i cant accept it due to other reasons. But I'm still celebrating being offered a job!!!)

So lets hear it! Whats a recent achievement, positive step or success you made? Take pride in it and celebrate it!!

[Doolhof]

Dear Crystal,

Finding something to be proud about yourself is very important isn't it! Especially when your depression/anxiety/stress or what ever you suffer from knocks your socks off and you just want to curl up into a ball and cry.

Think about all of your achievements and maybe write your self a letter of congratulations, or make a few notes in a card and put it somewhere for a rainy day.

Many years ago I was involved with a lovely group of ladies. We all were given a card and asked to write something positive about each person in the group. The cards were passed around so we all received a card in the end filled with wonderful affirmations about how other people thought about us.

We can do that for ourselves! I'm even going to get a card out right now and fill it in later for myself.

Thanks again for your positive and encouraging message! It really does give me hope!

Cheers to you from Lauren

[Doolhof]

Hi This Aquarian,

Well done to you for keeping on going with your hike! We never know what we will be able to achieve if we just go one step further!

For me today, I am going to push myself out the door and make it to Church for the first time in weeks. Then I am going to make these little legs of mine walk from the Church into the hall where I will have a cuppa and a chat with others instead of just getting straight into the car and driving home in tears! 

Where I am at presently, this will be a huge achievement!

I'd like to encourage you all to at least think about something you would like to achieve and then see how you can put those thoughts into action!

Wishing you all many moments of empowerment and achievement!

Now I am going to sound like a show selling commercial: "Just Do It!"

Cheers from Lauren

[Doolhof]

Oh dear. Poor spelling mistake.

In my other post I meant to write SHOE selling commercial now show selling!

Note to self" Check what you have written before you post it! That would be another beneficial achievement! Ha. Ha.

[thisaquarian]

Mrs Dools, did you make it to church? Hope that you had a good time, and that you stayed to chat afterwards. 🙂

[Lookingforpeace]

Hmmm a small achievement but today I felt lazy and like catching the tram to work but walked all the way instead 🙂

[Doolhof]

Hi This Aquarian,

Yes, I did make it to Church and then to the morning tea after. I mentioned my depression to a couple of people hoping they might be willing to listen for a minute or tow or even offer up some prayers as you might expect a Christian to do.

I asked the minister if she was free for a chat and mentioned the word "depression" and she changed the subject straight away. So I acted like I didn't have a problem and talked about the weather.

Monday I went to see my Dr. and ended up in hospital for the week. Maybe that was God answering my prayers!

So in all of this my huge achievement has been coming home for the weekend, willing to face my demons and to keep on trying! 

[Narniakid]

Hi friends!

As some of you may or may not know, I've been out of school for just over a year now, and I've been studying and volunteering in radio and digital media. After a horrible day of crippling anxiety and panic attacks, I just managed to stumble through my first hour on live radio.

It's really hard ignoring the voices in my head that are telling me all the bits I may have messed up or said things twice, but there's a part of me that's really proud I've finally got through it. All my previous bits on-air have been pre-recorded and scripted and I was so nervous doing them at the time I burst into tears, so I was absolutely terrified of my shift tonight - but I did it!

Don't forget to give yourselves a big pat on the back for getting through today 🙂

Crystal

[Chris_B]

Hi everyone! I'm bumping this older thread as we've had such success recently in talking about things we're grateful for, so I thought I'd take that a step further and revisit us talking about little achievements each day we're proud of. Like Beltane said in the original post, this can be literally ANYTHING you've done today, no matter how small. Our expectations may differ depending on how well we are at any given time.

I've been learning Portugese through a free app on my phone that teaches you new words each day. Some of the learning must be sinking in, because at the weekend I was able to name everything on the table at breakfast.

Who else would like to share an achievement?

[Cold_Mirror]

I'm glad you "bumped" this thread, Chris.

I was very sad today, but I was able to see the funny side of things when it was appropriate. So there was balance. A past therapist of mine said it's important to acknowledge the good as well as the bad.

I lasted the whole day at work and was productive. My colleague told me I was doing a great job, which was nice to hear. 🙂

[Doolhof]

This morning I was able to do 1/2 hour of specific Pilates exercises to aid my back. Hopefully I will be able to do this daily.

I also hope to make the effort to go for a walk at least 3 times a week now I can breathe a bit better again since my sinus operation.